Hello every one I have found something I never seen before prefab, fiberglass Domes, I know what your saying "fiberglass" its not what your thinking, I think these things are great, and I also think these might bee a solution to the PLE idea, but I don't know if I could use a wood stove in these or not. Heres the link. http://www.domesintl.com/index.htm

I use to work for this company that made used inner tubes into purses. We opened a "Flagship" store in Taos, NM and I was able to meet the creator of the Earthships. Outside Taos there is a whole subdivision that he built and the houses are great. There are little crawl spaces, arches, and really great ways that you can incorporate the land into your project. Heck if you get your tires for free and do the back breaking work yourself the house shouldn't cost too much. I lived in a B&B while there and one addition was made out of tires. In the Winter they had flowers growing just like it was spring. What I want to know is a way to incorporate those pesky plastic shopping bags into a house possibly for insulation? I have tons of those and I know everyone else does too. I think the future is finding new ways to build houses. Concrete is cool for all the ways you can manipulate it, just so expensive.

If I can only find some other folks to get intrested in this idea I would buy hundreds of acres of land out west say utah and build an entire city this way.

Can anyone tell me what the zoning laws for South Dakota are related to sandbag building (earthbag). The land I'm looking at is currently zoned agricultural and this means only one dwelling per 40 ac.,but I'm unable to find the codes.

Real men build Earthships, but then again location is everything. I used a course/pour method for increased stability and strength. My subsoil was a good gravel/sand type mix with no clay(for soil-cement and base coat stucco), and a 3.5/12 south facing slope. Slip formed gardens and fake tile floor. Notched beam 12/6 re-used glass wall, some ATV tires used for niches w/tile accents and base. Compost toilet, re-used 425 gal. pickup bed catchment tank on custom cabinet. Wood stove backup, and full stack of guitar amps on puresine solar power. Tires are free and much stronger than bags or bales, but don't build an Earthship if you are afraid of work, and hiring others makes it not cost effective.

Stretching his arms wide, Johnson can almost touch both sides of his home. On one side there's a sink with two containers of water. And on the other side is a desk area. There are also small closets and cabinets where Johnson stores clothing, tools and a foldable ladder for getting upstairs.

The cathedral ceiling in his house is high enough to allow for a sleeping loft. It is an efficient use of every inch of space. For Johnson, it is a way of life.

I am in the process of doing one. 40 foot by 60 foot, about 2400 sq ft. It cost me $25,000.

Is that $8.33 per square foot?

I think you can build these Geodesic dome houses for less then $25 grand though, especially if one is capable of getting anyone to help them in building it, the only problem is finding a spot of land to build it on, and then comming up with the $25k to buy the building materials and land. How this is done on a working class budget of $8-10 an hour isn't known to me yet. The dome housing has many things going for aside from affordableness. Can one live in a steel building then with some modifications if it were cheaper to do then the dome housing?

As I said affording such is beyond my abilities at this stage in life, so I continue to skrew myself over and make a captialist landlord richer each month by renting a slumhole appartment, but what can ya do...

I think you can build these Geodesic dome houses for less then $25 grand though, especially if one is capable of getting anyone to help them in building it, the only problem is finding a spot of land to build it on, and then comming up with the $25k to buy the building materials and land. How this is done on a working class budget of $8-10 an hour isn't known to me yet. The dome housing has many things going for aside from affordableness. Can one live in a steel building then with some modifications if it were cheaper to do then the dome housing?

As I said affording such is beyond my abilities at this stage in life, so I continue to skrew myself over and make a captialist landlord richer each month by renting a slumhole appartment, but what can ya do...

Land is everywhere. I found our new property at around $900 per acre. It is riverfrontage forest, 42 acres. Across the road from us my in-laws bought 105 acres at $300 per acre, mostly thick forest but no river frontage.

'Can you live in a steel building with some modifications?' I dont follow you there. I am building a steel building, is will be our new home. We will be moving into it in about three weeks. I am not sure what modifications you mean. Electric lighting alongside of oil lamps, hot and cold running water, a very large kitchen, a walk-in chill-box, a walk-in freezer, fireplace inside a large sunken living room with wrap-around couches, 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, and a lap swimming pool.

There are many ways to build these houses. I wish there was a way people could get together and help build communities supporting our cause. It is a great way to get people working together and learn about the environment as well. My father taught me how to build and live off of the land long ago. Most of the children would be clueless if they were left out in the wilderness alone now. Self sustaining communities would save money in the long run. It seems you dont have to trade comfort for space. I googled as well, there are many ways and materials that can be used in these homes. It is not like living in a freaking mud hut or anything, we are way more advanced then that. I have toured some amazing homes and have heard others talk of homes built in hillsides. Even some homes that encorporated caves and tunnels. Some costing little money and some costing a lot. They all have one thing in common, materials.